This invention relates to a pass-through transaction drawer such as is typically provided in a building, such as a convenience drive-up food store, a service station attendant's booth, a free-standing kiosk, a walk-up bank teller window or the like. Such transaction drawers are conventionally located immediately below a window behind which an attendant, clerk, teller, etc. is stationed so as to permit the attendant to view the customer approaching his window and to personally transact business with the customer while the attendant, together with the cash register and cash drawer, remain within a relatively secure and locked enclosure.
Reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,200 which discloses a prior art transaction drawer. This above-noted prior art transaction drawer is provided with a removable "deal tray" which facilitates "small" transactions which only involve cash, credit cards, and small articles (e.g. package of chewing gum, cigarettes, and the like), and yet the disclosed transaction drawer also permits the transfer of relatively large bulky packages, such as cans of oil or packages of beverages when the removable deal tray drawer is removed. One of the drawbacks of the prior art transaction drawer is that the "security" which is afforded by the removable deal tray is essentially lost by the removal of the small deal tray in an effort to accommodate a transaction involving large bulky packages. In today's security conscious world the loss of the security offered by the removable deal tray (referred to in the 4,640,200 patent as the removable "deal tray" at col. 5, line 11-12) is unacceptable. The removal of the deal tray for a transaction for bulky items may permit an assailant to insert a gun or other weapon through a partially open drawer and thereby threaten an attendant with bodily harm. These types of heists typically require the attendant to open the personnel access door, provide the assailant with the day's proceeds from the cash drawer, or otherwise respond to the assailant's demands or risk a loss of life if such demands are not satisfied. Deeper drawers for bulkier items thereby exacerbate the risk or a holdup by providing more space for the insertion of a firearm or other life threatening weapon.
There has been a long-standing need for a transaction drawer which accommodates the convenience of both small transactions (e.g. transferring cash, credit cards, and small items) and bulky transactions (e.g. cans of oil, six-packs of beverages) without the attendant loss of security as heretofore described.